Are you an experienced Communications Manager looking to immerse yourself in a role which has real life impact and will challenge you with its diversity? Are you customer-centric by nature, have creative flair, and can protect and enhance the reputation of a whole city? If yes, then we have the ideal opportunity for you.
In this role at Southampton City Council you will be accountable for a team of Senior Communications Officers, and report into the Service Lead Communications. You will lead on media management, including crisis PR, as well as creation, implementation and evaluation of the council’s priority campaigns and projects, which strengthen our reputation and promote crucial services to residents, businesses, and visitors. You will also be required to oversee the development of our in-house communications channels ensuring that they continue to be cost effective and maximise reach. You will work closely with the Service Lead Intelligence Insight and Engagement to ensure that the work of your team is research-based and insight driven. You will lead the digital communications for the team, including social media and email marketing, and work closely with the web team to ensure content is of excellent quality across our websites. You will also be required to ensure the brand is developed and consistently adopted across all work, and that your team work in a creative and efficient way with the in-house design team.
Most critically you will be able to direct and forward plan with your team to ensure that you deliver against the Council Strategy 2016-2020. This will require delivering communications strategies and activities which deliver practical outcomes and maximise return on investment.
About you
You will understand how communications can be used to shape and influence opinion and behaviour You will be able to understand an organisation quickly and develop a radar for reputational risk You will have personal ambition and initiative, while fitting within our highly collaborative team You will have the ability to direct, steer and manage the long term reputation of the council You will have the ability to work pragmatically, working with key internal and external stakeholders, collaborating and influencing to ensure the best outcome for the council You pride yourself on your strong communications and planning skills You are naturally flexible and comfortable with ambiguity You have the ability to provide balanced professional advice and guidance to senior decision makers in a complex political setting About Southampton – a city of opportunity
Southampton City Council plays a critical role in supporting the city’s ambition to attract more jobs, investment and visitors. Southampton City Council is responsible for overseeing around £2.9 billion in investment funds and is rated third in the country for good growth. The Port of Southampton is Europe’s most productive port and acts as the cruise capital of Northern Europe with 1.77million visitors per year. The University of Southampton is the top university business incubator in the world, and in total across the two universities in the city we have a student population of 42,500. Southampton Solent University was voted a top 5 creative university by Which. We have the highest number of apprenticeships starts across the South East and over the past 5 years we have cut unemployment by 50%.
About Southampton City Council
As a unitary authority we provide all council services for our population of 247,500 residents, from providing council homes, waste and recycling services, and libraries, through to roads, schools and protection of the vulnerable. We have four overarching outcomes set out in our 2016-2020 Council Strategy. These include:
Southampton is a city with strong and sustainable economic growth Children and young in Southampton get a good start in life People in Southampton live safe, healthy independent lives Southampton is a modern attractive city where people are proud to live and work For a job description and more information please contact Jenny Wills in our Recruitment Team on 02382 020108 or email: southamptoncitycouncil@hays.com
Closing date for applications - 21st May 2017 at 2355 hours